Whatever I Want
by Michelle Birkby
Summary: Spoilers for New Order, and of course SJ shippy. So...Jack can do whatever he wants if promoted?


Dedicated to Barb, cos of the videos.  
  
I can do whatever...I...want.  
  
Now that's an intriguing idea. Leave it up to Daniel to point out the major (no pun intended...she's Colonel now anyway) pro for accepting promotion. Come to think of it, he's the one that pointed out the major pro for going through the same day several million times. And it was the same reason.  
  
I can do whatever I want.  
  
I can order that cake be served every day in the commissary. And blue jello.  
  
I can delegate stuff I don't like to people I don't like.  
  
I can play golf through the gate.  
  
I can shut the door and say I'm going through paperwork and am not to be disturbed and then have a little nap (except, Carter would know. and wake me up.)  
  
I can tell Kinsey to go jump off a short pier into a large lake, or stuff a lighted stick of dynamite up his ass, or get into an argument with an angry Unas, or get intimately acquainted with my hockey stick, or just die, you limp-dicked, time-wasting, life-sucking son of a bitch. I shouldn't, but I could, because now I'm the boss.  
  
I could get on the phone to the president any time I wanted to. Actually, that worries me. What if I'm trying to order a pizza and I accidentally call him? 'yes please, I'd like two large pepperoni, and garlic, and ...Mr President? Sorry, pressed the wrong button. Yes, again.'. Well, ok, we can't get pizza's delivered on base, so the point is moot, but still, is a good idea for me, Jack O'Neill to have a direct line to the President any time I want?  
  
Except, of course, those weren't the thoughts that crossed my mind when Daniel said I could do whatever I wanted. The first thought I had was exactly the same thought I had last time he said those words to me.  
  
Kiss Carter.  
  
I could just kiss Carter. I'm not thinking beyond that, at this point, just the kiss. A long slow one, where I dip her. And she just melts into my arms, and gives me back the most passionate, hot kiss I've ever had. And my hands get tangled into her hair, and her hands run through mine, and I feel her tighten her grip on me, not because she's afraid I'll drop her, but because she doesn't want to let me go and ...I should wait till I'm alone before I have those thoughts.  
  
Of course, as soon as I thought that, I looked at her and she figured out what I was thinking (and so did Teal'c, going by that smirk. What's going on there? What does he know? Dare I ask him? No. Discussion over). And then she said 'within reason.'  
  
Ok, I see her point. I also see that slightly scared look on her face, like I'm going to grab her and ravish her right there and then. (And if Daniel and Teal'c hadn't been there...that's another thought to save till later.) So I can't do that.  
  
But I can promote her. I can tell the whole base that she is the best second in command I have ever had. I can make it clear, not just to her, but everyone, that I owe her my life, and my sanity. I can give her command, and give her the respect and honour she so richly deserves. And I can let her know, without words, but in a thousand little ways, that I still care for her, that whatever happens, I will always love her. She will always be the first, and last thought in my mind.  
  
And one day, I'll tell her. I'll take her aside, and tell her that at the moment Daniel told me she was dead, I panicked, for a second. A cold, hard panic, and I told him, what's the point of bringing me back to life if she's gone? How the light in me went out, then I saw her on that screen, and I knew she couldn't have been dead, because I could never lose her that way. And I'll tell her that she doesn't have to say or do anything, but I love her, and will always love her, and I can tell her now, because I can do whatever I want.  
  
So yeah, definitely a pro. So despite the desk, and the responsibility, I'll take it. (wait...I had a desk all along? Where? No wonder I didn't get all of my memos. Did I have an office?)  
  
And while I'm at it, I'm running a background check on Pete Shanahan. Just to make sure.  
  
Because now, I can do whatever I want.  
  
THE END 


End file.
